Morning journal and courier., 1887-01-03
AT CENTER CHURCH.


 The Church and Pulpft-Their Duty as to man's Social Welfare-An Men Are BrOthers-The Outcry of Labor The Industrial Problem-A Theo. logical Sign of the Times-Roman Jurisprudence and christian Theolo- gy-The American Board-The Mis- siOnary Field.
 Rev. Dr. Smyth delivered at Center church yesterday morning a sermon on | Questions of the hour and times," which | was full of interest and power and will well | repay perusal. The greater part of the dis | course is given below in the speakers words.
 uterpTet the face of ts earth and the heaven ! how is it that ye know not how to interpret this what is right?''
 In opening the discourse set forth briefly
 and pungently the necessity of true and | right life and character in order to true | discernment of the times. "Make the life of
 the people true and public opinion can be trusted to judge that which is right in every
 time. The instinct of true life is the best in- I terpretor of Gods times" Proceeding, the | speaker enforced the thought that it is the duty ''of Christian church and Christian ministry to seek to interpret the times and
 on all questions to make public opinion
 right" ''No Christian pulpit, in loyalty to this word of Christ can hold itself altogether
 aloof from the providential problems of the | hour" The speaker then invited the hearers
 1.n+. consider agns two of tha the I@ss RTos.
 and said: "I shall speak accordingly of | present providential indications in social and theological problems. The two are more l closely related than may be thought" '" "A socialism which would push man along without any religion is only laying down one | single rail for human progress. So a relig- | ious belief which does not run all along parallel with some practical line of conduct would be of little use to the people. The problem of history is to take humanity out ! of Babylon and it's iniquities and to trans | port it to the Jerusalem which is free. And Christianity, which is the way of progress, is both truth and practice, both theology and | life. He is no friend of man who would separate the two."
 "First, then, how shall we interpret the social signs of the times?" Proceeding the ! speaker said "Society is one living, organ | ic thing and it cannot be split into opposing halves without shedding it's life blood. ."'The question is, Who shall have modern society? Does it belong to the devil or to God9 This question is pre- eminently the social question of this time. The true church will Say: The I life of society shall not be destroyed by any war of classes; humanity is one body and it must be kept one divine creation, and in ! this one body all must be members, one of | another. Any power that would divide hu manity is false to man.
 'I point to it as one of the signs of the past year that the truth ot the organic unity, the living solidarity, the common humanity of men, is coming more powerfully into the consciousness of the people. An hour of anarchy has aroused the conscience of the country to this truth of our social integrity The failure of strikes of one class against other class has taught the people anew that we must prosper together. And the social fever and excitement which sometimes seems to make the whole head of our society sick and the whole heart faint-what is not that teaching us alll Are we not learning that there is danger for the whole body if we let any member suffer? Society cannot drag it's feet in the mire, and hope to keep it's eye always claer. Society cannot continue to let its hands be unprotected or unclean, and keep its heart merry or it's brains free from attack of delirium. If from all these labor troubles and all this social agitation we are learning this truth of the solidarity of humanity, this truth, as in our Christian language we should put it, that God has made us mem bers one of another, we shall read a sign of the time which we must understand if the blood of the people is not to be made hot with the sense of wrong and the whole con- stitution of our society torn and rent by con-
  that some men of insight and intelligence are beginning to say that the present state of the country is ominous were the signs of discomfort and uneasiness in that period which preceded the outbreak of the anti slavery conflict. It cannot, indeed, be de nind that great masses of our countrymt are feeling a sense of grievance which they find it difficult to define. And the past year has left, as sign of what may be coming, not, in- deed, the strikes which have spent their force, not the method of boycotting which has already become too dull a weapon for use, but a new labor movement in politics; and that is 8 sign of possible demands for we know not what upon the organic law of the land"
 Continuing the speaker saw in all this tur- moil and agitation ''Gods sign of hope" sFor this also is plain, that an instinct of jus tice and 8 love of humanity is the deepest thing and the truest that is in the heart of the people," The best brain and intelli- gence of the country was rising to meet the issue presented and the discourse alluded to the work now being done to fit and train young men at Yale under Yales new era and at Harvard and elsewhere, to meet these SO cial and political questions. "Our New Eng land colleges, true to the memories of the men who founded them for country and for God, educating our youth. the sons of rich men and poor men together to be teachers and leaders along those lines
 
 trained will be felt in the legislation and the life of this country after the demagogue shall have fallen with his blind followers into the ditch, and the people shall pass on under wiser guidance to civilization more prosperous, more equal, more just" ''The scholar, to quote phrase which heard during my college days and have not forgot ten, 'the scholar receives the peoples oil and returns it to them in light"
 "The Christian pulpit too, whenever, at least, it has felt a fresh breath from the spirit, is inspired with the Lords word of the gospel of the kingdom, and is preaching the truth not merely of individual election but of the redemption of the world in Christ and the election of all believers to service and to usefulness for the kingdom of Gods sake"
 The speaker now took up the second dIvi- sion of his theme, continuing as follows:
 A glance through the past is necessary for any appreciation of recent theological sig 8. In the New Testament is to be found an epis tie to the Romans. The very title marked new era in the history of the Christian reli zion. Christ was preached to the Romans. And the distinguishing characteristic of the style and of the whole mode of approach to the truth of Christ in that epistle is it's adaptation to the Roman habit of mind. St. Paul was fitted and chosen for that special work. St. Paul was himself 8 lawyer. He had been trained in Hebrew school of law And besides that he was a Roman citizen and Roman citizen probably understood something of Roman law. With that epistle to the Rohans there begins the Roman con ception of Christianity. It is a forensic presentation of divine truth, such present. ation as Roman lawyers could easily appro- priate. That conception of truth which the apostle who could be all things to all men so wisely began ,and was chosen and inspired to begin, has been wrought out through long history of controversy and creed. A distin- guished Jurist has lately had occasion to point out how thoroughly the Roman iuris- prudence has saturated our traditional theol- ogy. 1.-The principles of the Roman law colored theology after the reformation we'll as before." Some time since 8 person narrated to me the difficulties which had prevented his making a confession of faith. They were mostly difficulties with the Roman law conception of Christianity, as that con ception has been elaborated in certain re- ceived formulas, difficulties which more properly might be charged to the code of Justinian than to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some of the ordinary phrases which are fla miliar to us in our Protestant creeds have been transferred almost bodily from the Ro- man law. Now, observe, beg of you that